“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30
Ladies, do you understand that you were
fearfully and wonderfully made by God? You are loved lavishly and accepted by
Him, and He has appraised you with a worth which exceeds by far, that of
rubies!
I have a picture of a very attractive,
sophisticated “mature” woman in her dining room She is posing in front of her fabulous birthday cake and is wearing a huge smile and it says: “Honey, you couldn’t pay me to be
twenty, again!” I am by
far a much better woman today than I was in my twenties. I also have so much
more to contribute at this point of my life. Fifty years may
seem like a long journey...but it is nothing compared to what I have left to
conquer for Christ. I have a promise from God that if I continue to pursue His
Kingdom, even in my old age I will continue to bear fruit.
What I have learned in these 50 years of my life…
That true happiness and
fulfillment cannot come through anything or anyone other than through a
relationship with your Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ.
That your past does not
determine your future.
That faith can move mountains.
That God answer prayers.
That our words are extremely
powerful.
That you should love everyone
but only share your dreams, your vision and your heart, with certain
people.
That if you give Him time, God
can really work out anything for good.
That time does not heal wounds
but His love does.
That sometimes the worst thing
that can happen to you is to get your way.
That to truly live a life with
passion you need to use the “gifts’ you’ve been given.
That everything in life is
subject to change, except for God and His Word.
That God’s grace can carry you
through the most difficult of times.
That no matter how much you cry
today, joy is just around the corner.
That you are never too old to
dance, fall in-love, or laugh out loud!
That it is not the age or the
beauty of a woman that makes her desirable but her soul and how she sees
herself!
I am now walking in this new fabulous journey, knowing that at whatever moment or season things will change but I understand that I serve a God who does not change but his methods do and those changes will make me become a better woman to serve Him and also to serve others.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25
The Lion of Judah is worthy! {Jesus Christ} His voice roars out of Zion as He reclaims His Bride {his church}. Follow the roar to find your way home. Father, I ask You to open the eyes of our hearts to understand the scriptures. This is such an awesome image. Our minds cannot conceive of Your majesty, Your holiness. Thank You, Lord for giving us a glimpse, a taste of that glorious Day when You come to take Your children home. Lord, You are beautiful beyond description, more wonderful than words. We love You, Lord and give You praise.
The Biblewill air on the History Channel beginning March 3, with the last episode in the series airing on Easter Sunday.
Roma Downey & Mark Burnett Producers of the miniseries The Bible,a 10-hour docudrama to premiere on The History Channel March 3, have announced the upcoming release of a companion Bible app which will be hosted by YouVersion. Mark Burnett and Roma Downey hope the app will encourage viewers of the miniseries to read the Word.
Burnett has had a string of reality TV victories since Survivor, including The Apprentice and The Contender. He’s also well known as a producer for live award events, like The People’s Choice Awards and the MTV Movie Awards.
The Bible — an epic 10-part miniseries retelling stories from the Scriptures for a whole new generation. Breathtaking in scope and scale, The Bible features powerful performances, exotic locales and dazzling visual effects that breathe spectacular life into the dramatic tales of faith and courage from Genesis through Revelation. This historic television event is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family.
Take heed that no man deceive you – Matthew 24:4 And Paul
made clear that in the latter times believers would give heed to 'deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons' 1 Timothy 4:1.
About 2 years ago, God spoke to me - several times in the
book Deuteronomy "to remove the sin
among you" I didn't understand why it ministered to me so I brushed it
off and soon after that "All hell broke loose in my life" I
understand now that when the Holy Spirit tugs at our hearts, we need to search
deeper into His word, pray and fast for revelation. As God is preparing me to
serve again, he also tugged at my heart to re-read this scripture and to guard
myself and avoid those things that one time caught me off guard. I want to
share this experience with you so you can ask God to help you understand and to
prevent the things or the people that are lurking in sin and is affecting you
to prosper in your divine calling. These
scriptures are in the book of Deuteronomy, chapters: 13 through 24 --I now understand of the people, the places and things that God was trying to prevent my
downfall. I know that I am not the only one that God disciplines for in
Hebrews 12:6 tells us: the Lord disciplines
those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son/daughter."
Also I read in Deuteronomy 23:14 For the LORD your God moves about in your camp (heart,
mind, spirit) to protect you and to deliver your
enemies to you. Your camp (heart, mind and spirit) must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and
turn away from you.
It was for me to understand this now, but two years
ago, I didn't see past the chaos that
was stirring up around me. That is why
it is so important, I emphasize crucial that we keep our hearts and minds clear
from all sinful distraction, praying at all times for God to reveal the hearts
and intentions of all those that are in your circle of friends, its unfortunate
that even family members have to be removed, at least for a season or even for
a life-time but always keeping them in prayers.
When we interact with others, a person’s appearance doesn't tell us how a person thinks and feels. What’s inside a person is what God sees.
Many are good in hiding their true feelings and intentions. The Bible tells us in
Romans 8:27 that
God searches the hearts of men and women. That means that God looks
deep inside of us instead of evaluating us by the way we look on the outside.
God knows every thought of ours. God knows us the way we truly are, not just
the way we seem to be. People are like books, you have to look inside to know
what is really there.
Was I that gullible for trusting and believing those whom I
thought were walking right with God? I
believe that when we encounter this first love with God, we want to serve, we want
to pour of ourselves to others and bring them in and embrace them with the same
Love God poured unto us. We want to fix
other peoples’ problems, heal their brokenness, set them free from bondage, we
work so hard in doing those things and we are so busy wanting to be used by God
that we think we are doing the righteous thing and we don’t guard our hearts,
and we lose the mark to hear God when he is trying to warn us. “Remove the Sin Among You” and that is when
the spirit of deceptions comes in.....The spirit of deception will use partial
truths to get you to believe a lie. The spirit of deception never gives you the
whole truth; it only gives you enough truth to get you to buy into these lies.
We become an easy target for those who are being used by
this spirit, its intention is to corrupt your mind; to poison and lead others
astray from the truth and use the very WORD of God to distort your thinking, to
stop believing in those that God put in Authority to lead you to the truth. The
spirit of deception works to divide you from others by isolating you. You are picked
off by this spirit much like a predator looks for the weakest animal in the
flock and isolates it from the rest of the flock. There is protection in
numbers and this spirit wants to get us by ourselves, away from everyone else.
The spirit of deception always seeks to divide us rather than bring
reconciliation on the contrary of God's plan is always restoration and
reconciliation. However, many of us are seduced by the spirit of deception
often times,we quit walking with the believers we once had incredible
relationships with.
Once deceiving spirits have a hold - once you are believing
something , you received from them - they will feed it and lead it on to other
areas of control in your life in order to isolate you. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy any
part of the abundant life God has for you(John
10:10). It attempts to blind you to the truth by veiling your eyes - the Bible
becomes a hard book to read - anointed teaching is dull to your ears. You life becomes their lies, your mind starts
to think like them, Your behavior starts to walk like them, you start to speak
like them. The spirit of deception walks
you through intimidation that locks you
in a prison of lies, it manipulates the Word of God. By the time you realize,
it is too late, you are caught in a prison of deception. This spirit doesn't like confrontation, it doesn't like to be corrected, and it refuses to be under authority. It loves power
and yearns control; it will stop at nothing because the very core of their
heart is rooted in sin. WOW! In
Ecclesiastes 12:14: God will bring every deed into judgment, including every
hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. This very thing happened to me, but because of
God’s Grace, he pulled me up from the pit of deception and from this
controlling spirit and removed ever y residue of every person in my life that
has had any connection with this spirit. But unfortunately, I was left with the
feeling of its deadly venom and many were hurt and affected because deception doesn't like to go down alone; it has to bring others down with it. But in
Jeremiah 4:18 tells us: Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you.
This is your
punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!When covering the sins of others, there comes a
multitude of consequences. God forgives us but the consequences of
covering sin is a price we have to pay. The spirit of deception is depressing,
discouraging, and destroying many of us Christians today.
Today I would like to encourage you to beware of the spirit
of deception. Don’t entertain it in your life, in thoughts, words, or deeds.
Don’t allow the spirit of deception working through others to influence your
walk with the Lord. Lie plus lie equals lie. Truth plus truth equals truth. If
we sow seeds of deception, we’ll reap a harvest of corruption. But if we sow
seeds of truth, we’ll reap a harvest of blessings. We need to stand against
this spirit or we will fall. Don’t agree with anything that doesn't line up
with the Word of God. Walk in the light and walk in truth. Walk in the Spirit
and walk in the Word. Walk in truth and your soul shall live.
A Cord of Three Strands is Not Easily Broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12) I want to share how this scripture ministered to me about this amazing friendship of these 3 beautiful young ladies. I meet all three of them at the church I attend. Recently, the middle one passed to eternity after a long battle with cancer. I wrote about her recently in my blog "Lenis, The Victorious and Faithful Warrior"
We were all part of the single mothers ministry. As single mothers, we all feel a connection one way or another to each other. We all had different needs, whether we struggled more financially, or more emotionally, in society alone it is a struggle being a single mother, but it is more comforting to know that you have friends that will be there for you no matter what. As we continued to share the same circle of friends and attended small groups, birthday parties, game nights, scrap-booking nights, we were all able to know each other in a more personal level. I witness how much love they had for each other, a love that kept them strong till death do us part. Jackie, the one in the top picture with the super cool blue lace skirt knew Lenis since birth, they were not only friends but sisters in spirit, their bond was unbreakable, along came Patty years later after meeting Lenis through Jackie, it then became "A Cord of Three Strands Not Easily Broken" friendship.
Whether life experiences took them to other routes or meeting new friends, their sister-hood was never affected but stronger. As I learned more about them, it seems that their confidant, confronter and mentor was Lenis. Lenis was like their mother hen, always giving them advises, correcting them with love and embracing their flaws and always making them feel no different from each other, she loved them both the same, but with Jackie she did experience many more beautiful memories, not only strengthen their bond but they were each others sister-keeper. Their memories of growing up seeing and feeling many family deaths and many new births, especially when they both became mothers their bond became stronger. The happy memories of their secrets and all the mischief's they did along the way, the tears and pain of broken hearts, their dreams, their hopes were all connected with each other. There were times nothing had to be said, but they knew what each was thinking about. Even at times throughout their friendship, I imagine, they did have misunderstandings and they must of not agreed of certain people in their circle and even disagreed about certain decisions they made. That is absolutely normal for friends to have their own opinions but still in all the disagreements, it didn't change the way they felt for each other. I really admired to see this bond between these girls, that even through their unpleasant experience, they were able to move on from it and continue to grow in their friendship.
The most heart-filling of unconditional love was the time when their sister Lenis was diagnosed with Cancer. You can not have experience a much immense pain, brokenness and a sense of fear of one day losing their beloved sister Lenis. More than ever they stuck together, they embraced every moment and turned them into ever-lasting memories that will live in their hearts forever. Through much pain, endurance and hardship, they took care of her, night and day along with Lenis's mom and many others that came and embrace this young woman who taught them the love of Christ. Then the most dreadful day became a reality, Lenis departed to be in eternity. The tears, the joys, the happiness, the set-backs, their dreams, their hopes are all wrapped up in these beautiful memories of a sister who was strong, fearless, faithful, genuine, courageous, loving, caring and most of all compassionate. A sister who taught them to believe, to have faith and to trust God no matter what. She kept their hopes alive and will continue to live in their hearts and in the memories that will keep reminding them to live, to laugh and love each other as she loved them, that they will continue to live the legacy of a sister-keepers and most all to spread the love of Christ to all those who didn't have what they had a "A Cord of Three Strands Not Easily Broken" friendship.
On February 8, 2013, our beautiful radiant warrior princess
went home to be with her King. Lenis heard the words "well done my good
and faithful servant" while God placed all the glorious heavenly crowns of
life, righteousness, glory, rejoicing and incorruptible rewards on top of her
beautiful head. Lenis fought the good
fight of faith until the very end and cancer NEVER took her radiant exuberant
Christ loving spirit. Christ's love radiated through her and all she did. We
pray that the extraordinary way she chose to live and believe will be an open
invitation to living your life for Jesus and his Kingdom. 2 Timothy 4:7. I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.
Let me just share a little of how I met Lenis. Lenis and I attended The Cityline Church, {which I still attend} We became friends through other women that we both knew when she was in her first cancer remission. Several months later, the bad news was told to us that Lenis had to again receive chemo, because the cancer had returned. I believe God set me up to be part of this young girls life as an answer to one of her prayers. {as you read along, you will understand why I say this}. Going forward and making this long story short, one day on my way to the beach, I felt the Lord tugging at my heart about Lenis, he said to me in my spirit - Lenis is going to need help and you will attend to her needs. I caught myself questioning God and saying - LORD, ME? How?what can I do? and he said, just obey and I will take care of the rest. Immediately after that, I sent out several texts to some of the women that we both knew, responses started to flood my phone and every response was "count me in." Several days later, still questioning God, "God did you really put this in my heart, this girl doesn't even know me, we just know of each and just spoken several times. After going back and forth with doubt, I decided to pick up the phone and call Lenis and invited her to the park so the girls can play, I also told her that I wanted to share something with her. She agreed and we met up. As we walked along the park, I finally got the courage to share with her what God had put in my heart. Lenis, stopped half way the walk and started to cry and said, these very words to me" MY GOD, Maribel - I have been praying to God for this, to bring into my life godly woman to help me through this" My mom can't do it alone. We both hugged each other and cried thanking God, for me - a confirmation and for Lenis, an answered prayer.
With much preparation and with the help of the Pastoral Care from our church and all the women who volunteered, seeing Lenis with much perseverance to conquer this disease was an amazing Faith Builder for all of us. I was blessed to be in many gatherings with her and share
our lives and hold each other up. We
shared our hearts and joys. Lenis had
fought cancer and was in remission for a about a year, and we all stood with her
through her journey to remission. She
was stronger in spirit and faith and soared through it with amazing Grace. Just when she was declared in remission… she
was experiencing sharp pains, a few short weeks later she was given the news that the cancer had returned. She knew what she was up against but she had confidence that
her Jesus would take care of her. Lenis’s faith was part of the armor she dressed for this battle. I learned so much from her. I learned more about the Spirit of God from her than I ever learned anywhere else. I saw where true faith resides and where it advanced. I learned that it does not come from intellect; Lenis was in the middle of the biggest fight anyone ever has to go through; cancer. She knew exactly what that meant and what would be required. But she knew how to find her center, her spirit, her JESUS and to “BE STRONG.” She kept the faith in the midst of hard questions and was a
model for seeking peace in her soul in a difficult time ... she focused on
making a difference, and hopefully we will remember that about her and try and
focus on the difference we can make.
And to think that we all were being used by God to help Lenis, but in reality it was Lenis that was being used by GOD to help built our Faith even while death awaits us. Many of us were not there when Lenis was ushered to eternity, but our Pastors and many family and friends were there by her side, praying and interceding. They were able to testify of her zeal for God, she lifted up her hands to praise God and surrender her spirit. The way I look at it, Lenis, ran the race, she stood firm in her faith, regardless that anyone didn't see God in the midst of her pain, she fought hard, won the battle and gain Victory over death.
Even though Lenis is no longer with us, she will continue to be
a legacy in those of us who will honor her name and will continue to celebrate her as "A Woman of Great Faith".
We need to choose to uplift
women as opposed to tear down women. We will live by the motto; “If she is a
woman she is my sister - even if she does not want to be mine.” This means that
we must be careful about how quickly we pass judgment about other women. We
need to watch what we say about her, or what we allow to be said about her in
our presence and her absence. This calls for honesty, a quality that often
lacks "big time" in female relationships. If something about her
attitude bothers us then we need to be honest and address it with her.
Gossiping and spreading rumors about the downfalls of other women gives us a
false sense of power. It is false because life is uncertain and we might find
ourselves in similar if not exact same circumstances.
